Tenzing Norgay

Tenzing Norgay

Norgay in Sweden (1967)
Personal information
Birth name	Namgyal Wangdi
Main discipline	Mountaineer
Born	(1914-05-29)29 May 1914 Khumbu, Solukhumbu District, Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal
Died	9 May 1986(1986-05-09) (aged 71) Darjeeling, West Bengal, India
Nationality	Nepalese
Career
Starting age	19 years
Starting discipline	Porter
Notable ascents	First ascent of Mount Everest, 1953
Famous partnerships	Edmund Hillary
Family
Spouse	Dawa Phuti (1935-1944; her death ) Ang Lahmu (1945-1964; her death) Dakku (m. ? - ? )
Children	Nima Dorje, Pem Pem, Nima, Jamling, Norbu, Deki & Dhamey

Tenzing Norgay OSN GM (/ˈtɛnsɪŋ ˈnɔːrɡeɪ/; 29 May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepali Sherpa mountaineer. Among the most famous mountain climbers in history, he was the first individual known to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which he accomplished with Edmund Hillary on 29 May 1953.Time named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

There are conflicting accounts of Norgay's early life. The account he gave in his autobiography, accepted for several years, is that he was a Sherpa born and raised in Tengboche, Khumbu, in northeastern Nepal. In an interview with All India Radio in 1985, Tenzing Norgay said that his parents came from Tibet, but that he was born in Nepal. However, it has also been suggested that he was born in Tibet, at Tse Chu in the Kama Valley, and spent his early childhood in Kharta, nearby to the north; according to this alternate account, Tenzing went to Nepal as a child to work for a Sherpa family in Khumbu.